Chapter 722: Five Hundred Golds
"Don"t be so smug about bluffing," said Little Yin with a scowl as she slapped a pouch of gold on the table, allowing it to spill. "I will put you in your place now!"
Little Yin"s older sister didn"t attempt to stop her and watched with interest as the rest of the players all felt humiliated by Arthur. Finally, after the dealer shuffled the cards, a new hand was dealt, and the betting started after the starting bid shifted. It was Arthur"s turn to start the betting, and the ensuing events left everyone speechless.
It was precisely the same as before. Everyone folded as Arthur raised the stakes and acted arrogantly, confident he wouldn"t lose. However, Arthur had the winning hand this time, as he revealed it after everyone folded. This fact made everyone a.s.sume they judged right, and another hand began.
Arthur won after everyone folded.
It happened for the third time.
After the fourth round, which Arthur also won by making everyone fold, the stack of coins in front of him was quickly over two hundred Sun Golds. That was equivalent to two hundred thousand Yalveran Dollars, almost half the debt that once crushed him.
"He is cheating!" shouted the shrewd man as he slapped the cards on the table. "I suspect a charming ability or something similar that makes everyone fold! Right, it must be hypnosis!"
"Don"t make a fool out of yourself through these accusations," said the gang leader with a dark face. The man closed his mouth and angrily shook as he glared at Arthur. "No ability, not even a blessing, can be used in Dark World."
The rest of the players were also helpless, but the gang leader didn"t seem bothered. Instead, she was intrigued by the calm young man who made everyone fold four times in a row after making them bet more than in the earlier rounds.
Her eyes examined him from top to bottom, wanting to know his trick. As for the man himself, he seemed calm and didn"t even reach for his gold.
"You aren"t here for the money, stranger," acknowledged the gang leader. "If so, that round would have been enough to sate a momentary need. You didn"t spare the coins a single glance, even. So what is your aim, outlander?"
"I seek a certain man," replied Arthur. "I wouldn"t even mind leaving this gold in exchange," added Arthur as he pushed the stacks of coins with his finger, allowing them to fall on the table to form a small pile.
"It happens that finding people is our specialty," said the woman as she closed her fan, revealing her entire face for the first time. She then placed the fan on the table, and everyone suddenly stood up and left to join other tables.
In the end, only Arthur, Little Yin, and the gang leader remained. The rest joined other tables, acting as if nothing of this had happened. It was almost as if seeing a rehea.r.s.ed theater act with how organized their movements were.
"We can talk now," said the gang woman as she leaned back in her chair. Her gray tattoos and eyeshadow made her seem like an ancient painting more than a gangster. "Don"t worry about secrecy since no one can understand what we are talking about."
"I noticed that," said Arthur as he stared at the other tables and found that even if he focused, he couldn"t understand their words. "How can that be achieved?"
"Certain effects need stripping the world of its function. For example, as long as you are seated at a table, no one outside that table can understand what you say. This is to remain secretive."
"Not much of an answer."
"I thought you sought a person, not an engineering advice," said Little Yin with a frown. "Tell us how you won, and we"ll tell you how this place works."
"Don"t interrupt me, Yin," said the older sister as her smile disappeared. Little Yin shook and nodded, lowering her head and staring at the table. Then, the gang leader resumed her smile and talk. "Who are you looking for, outlander?"
"A worker named Gray, who can craft authentic identification medals for the empire," said Arthur, and the woman squinted her eyes at him. "I know that he"s quite popular in the capital."
"That request is not so simple," said the woman as she ran her finger across the table"s edge. "You see, Gray is the man who supplies all of the underworld"s identification needs. You can say he"s its arms into the capital since the emperor shut down the other forgers. That made him invaluable to everyone, and there is a thousand Sun Golds bounty on him."
"I don"t want to arrest him," said Arthur. "I want an ident.i.ty of my own, that is all. Unfortunately, I have no way of contacting him. However, I believe you can arrange that."
"I can get you a medal or two," said the woman with a smile. "All it takes is five hundred Sun Golds per one. That"s the price of doing business with us."
"Then, how about another round?" Arthur asked as he spread his palm over the table with his two hundred Sun Golds. However, the woman shook her head and leaned back.
"You seem quite capable of persuading others to listen to your words, even if I don"t understand how. There are better ways to use your skill, and I will give you a medal in return. How about it?"
"I"m not a mercenary."
"No one wants to be, but this is how favors work," the woman picked up her fan, and the players returned to the table. "You do something for me, and I will do something for you. We will contact you when the time is right."
Arthur stared at her for a few seconds before leaving the table without saying anything. Then, as he walked through the casino and was about to leave, one staff rushed to hand him a bag filled with his two hundred coins.
"A token of friendship," said the servant before bowing and leaving Arthur standing with his bag of money. He glanced at the gang woman, and their eyes met. After that, Arthur walked out of Dark World. Rain was waiting outside.
"I got nothing," said Rain with a shrug as she saw Arthur coming out. "It seems that no one wants to talk about him. How about you?"
Arthur didn"t answer, as he could feel someone watching him. It was easy to know who, why, or from where. However, he knew it must be someone with the gang leader. Thus, Arthur took out a gold coin and threw it toward Rain. She caught it with confusion.
"How about a night together?" Arthur asked with a smile, and Rain seemed to realize what was happening. She bit on the gold to test it and opened her other hand.
"Nine more, then!" demanded Rain, and Arthur was speechless. Still, he took out nine Sun Golds and gave them to her to buy her "services" for a night.
"Let"s go, then!"
After receiving the money, Rain smiled happily and hugged his arm. Arthur almost rolled his eyes, but he had to keep his act, and the two left toward the inn. The person following them didn"t leave until the two of them entered the room and closed the door.
"Are they gone?" asked Rain as she sat on the bed, putting one leg over the other. Arthur stood beside the door, nodded, and then threw the bag. "Well? Are you going to tell me what happened?"
"The gangs have Gray," said Arthur while walking toward the window and opening it. "It seems he"s working for them, either voluntarily or threatened. One of the gang leaders offered to give me a medal for a job I do for her."
"And this is your payment?" asked Rain as she sneaked a peek into the bag and whistled when she saw how much gold was inside. "Did she tell you the specifics?"
"That money is what I earned betting against them," said Arthur before he walked toward the bed and threw himself on it. "Something is unsettling about this."
"About what?" asked Rain as she laid on her chest beside him, and the bed started shaking. "Are you unaccustomed to gangs? They are more predictable than the empire."
"Is that so?"
"It is since they rely on the organization to conduct their crimes. They cannot function in a chaotic society, even if their methods are ruthless."
"This makes it even more unsettling since they are holding onto the one man who can make crime possible," Arthur frowned before jumping from the bed. "We can a.s.sume they know about the rebellion happening."
"Wait!" shouted Rain as she held his arm, Arthur a.s.sumed she panicked about the rebellion being revealed, but she said something unexpected – or rather expected. "Let"s talk about this further in bed."
Arthur stared at her silently, still lying on her chest, and the woman stared back at him with her big amber eyes. He had no idea what was happening inside her head, but he knew it was nothing other than l.u.s.t.